Our Week in the Forest...

A number of our LFF children had a wonderful time at the Paradise Co-op Bonfire party on the weekend, so much so that when they arrived on Monday morning they were eager to recreate the magical night! Using different shaped pieces of wood, the children set about creating fireworks and talking about the sounds that the fireworks had made. They enjoyed shattering their creations in a big ‘BANG!’ as much as they had done in meticulously balancing the blocks to form them. Other children became absorbed in creating handprint fireworks, which gradually merged into a modernist smoky bonfire scene of browns and oranges. Some children tried to build their own ‘bonfire’ by moving the planks of wood into position and jumping from logs as beautiful explosions. It was so lovely to see how one fun filled evening inspired the children in so many ways through their play, alongside all their lovely chatter about the festivities. We also began our fire safety training with the children to prepare them for having our very own fire at Paradise as the weather turns colder.

Over at our Windmill site the children enjoyed some water play, using buckets to transport the water to and fro to the ‘Mud pile!’ What started as a lovely little puddle quickly became an ocean, as the children explored different words to best describe the scene they had created. It was great to see them working as a team, and they were so excited and eager to develop their idea and make the pool bigger and bigger. After a good old splash around, the children decided that things simply weren’t messy enough. Using a little creative thinking they decided that they could create paint with the mud they had made. In seconds they set about creating catwalk make up for one another to camouflage themselves in the forest. They looked simply stunning...and absolutely ready for a bath! It always thrills us that in a forest environment, given just a couple of buckets and some water, the children can create such inspiring games, work as a team, and provide themselves with hours of entertainment.

Another top notch week in the forest, cheers everyone. Have a wonderful weekend and see you all ready and raring to go again next week.